This story was reported earlier at a scientific meeting, but Italian doctors have now published the details of their success at restoring sight to blind patients using their own adult stem cells.

The Italian team treated 112 patients who had experienced chemical burns to the cornea. One patient who had his sight restored had been blind for 50 years. The doctors isolated adult stem cells from a portion of the patient’s eye, grew the cells in the lab to create a new cornea, and transplanted the new cells onto the damaged eyes. They achieved total success in 77% of patients and partial vision restoration in 13% of patients; the restored vision has lasted up to ten years so far, with some calling it a “permanent” restoration of sight.

The study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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